ABSTRACT
Knowledge may take the form of conceptual semantic knowledge which has been abstracted from many similar experiences of objects and events. Temporary representations of inputs, such as the exact words in a sentence, or the details of a particular episode, may be forgotten as soon as the new information is absorbed into general knowledge. But in the case of speech there is the extra dimension of a contract between speaker and hearer to fulfil the conventions required for successful communication. Of course, speech is a type of action, indeed one of the most typical of human actions. Frame representations for word meanings and script frames for expected sequences of actions have the advantage of providing knowledge frameworks for interpreting naturally occurring events. In all social interactions people have to take into account the motivations of other people with whom they come in contact.
